Globsyn Technologies, an Indian software solutions provider, has won an HR outsourcing (HRO) contract with the American Express (Amex) BPO in India. The duration and financial terms of the contract were not disclosed.

Under the terms of the contract, Globsyn will act as an talent acquisition and transformation partner for the Amex BPO in India. It will help the company in recruiting workforce from India. Under the arrangement, the company has already placed about 800 personnel with the Amex BPO.

Summary of recent study defines outsourcing management and governance (OM/G) functions as the personnel, processes, software and tools, and external services (e.g., advisors, lawyers and auditors) required for outsourcing success, according to a release.

Key findings of the study include:

Outsourcing satisfaction improves over time. The highest levels of satisfaction were with IT and CRM executives

While satisfaction was greatest for companies that spend 4% to 7% on OM/G, over 48% of respondents spend between 1% to 4%. HR executives were the least satisfied at the 1% to 4% spending level.

Executives who outsourced for process improvement versus cost savings tended to be more satisfied.

High-Tech Products & Services, Pharmaceuticals and Automotive/Manufacturing were more satisfied than other industries.

Repsol, a Spanish energy and utilities company, has awarded ARINSO International, a Belgian HR services provider, a five-year HR Outsourcing (HRO) contract. The financial terms of the contract were not disclosed.

Under the terms of the contract, ARINSO will provide personnel administration and payroll services in Spain and Portugal for Repsol. The contract will provide services to about 20,000 employees of Repsol. ARINSO will provide the services through its shared service center in Madrid, Spain. The company will start providing the services by June 2006

Veritude, a subsidiary of Fidelity Investments named Diane Shelgren executive vice president of strategy and client development. Shelgren was a senior executive for Accenture HR Services and also served as senior vice president at Spherion. Prior to Spherion, she held executive positions in HR services at Ceridian and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Shelgren is responsible for leading Veritude's strategy, business development and marketing operations. Veritude provides staffing and technology services as well as workforce consulting. She will report to Veritude president and CEO Bob Lopes, a former Towers Perrin partner.

Companies are increasingly calling in consultants to help generate new profits, rather than implement cost-cutting measures such as outsourcing.

After two years where spending on traditional management consulting shrunk by almost 10%, 2005 saw it rocket 40% to $5.8b, according to figures from the Management Consultancies Association (MCA).

By contrast, outsourcing-related consulting - which had driven growth in previous years - only grew at 15% in 2005, compared to 46% in 2003 and 18% in 2004. IT consulting grew at 10% in 2005, slightly down on 2004.

The MCA calculates the UK consulting industry is now worth around $22.3b.

Spending on consultants grew fastest in financial services, where consultants saw their fee income jump 50% to $2.6 in 2005. Spending by the manufacturing sector - one of the more difficult consulting markets of recent years - also grew by 20 per cent.

Proview Global, a firm that specifically caters to the benefits administration of employees in the United States, has invested millions in information technology infrastructure to ensure the security of data-handling in its clients’ transactions. One of the biggest challenges offshore vendors face is convincing clients from the United States that their data is going to be secure.

For the non-HR types, employee benefits administration involves the handling of the insurance benefits of a clients workforce. The range of benefits available to US employees range from the traditional medical and dental benefits to the more complex Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) benefits that provide a continuation of health care coverage after termination.

ProView claims it is currently handling the employee benefits administration of around 26 mid to large size companies in the United States and is currently undergoing an ISO9001 certification.

To bolster its security and put clients and at ease, ProView has applied biometric authentication in its offices. Biometrics involves the measurement and analysis of physical characteristics such as fingerprints, eye retinas and irises, and hand measurements in recognizing people entering a facility. The company has also implimented significant restrictions on internet access by their employees. While the labor-intensive data processing is done by ProView employees, they cannot download or print any of the data on in their computers.

ProView is currently looking for co-hosting facilities in either California or Hawaii for clients who feel a need to secure their data remains on U.S. soil.

Accenture has signed a outsourcing agreement with Crestline Hotels & Resorts, to manage processes associated with human resource, payroll and finance and accounting functions, including accounts payable, general ledger and financial reporting. Financial terms and length of the agreement were not disclosed.

The services will be provided by Accenture BPO Services, an Accenture business providing outsourced human resources and finance and accounting services to middle-market companies.

A recent IDC Midmarket BPO survey revealed that the rising adoption of business process outsourcing (BPO) among midmarket firms has already caused both small and large BPO providers to direct their efforts to the midmarket, and has triggered the creation of new BPO providers aimed solely at the midmarket opportunity.

The survey results point to a midmarket that is ripe with opportunity for the provision of BPO services. Many BPO vendors, large and small, are already working to build and consolidate their BPO solutions and value proposition for midmarket companies. Even BPO vendors that have predominantly targeted their services to large companies are now aggressively building up their midmarket portfolios.

The IDC reports reveal that the majority of both HR and F&A midmarket respondents are either currently using, will begin using, or are considering adoption of BPO. The majority of respondents also indicated that they will either increase BPO spending or maintain current levels in the future. Additionally, when respondents were asked which events would cause their company to consider BPO, the need to reduce costs overwhelmingly ranked at the top.

Cost savings is a key driver for BPO in the midmarket and not surprising it is also the number one perceived benefit of BPO. At the same time, midmarket firms are apprehensive about the loss of control that BPO may bring. Therefore, a clear and sustainable value proposition around cost savings is the key component required in the pursuit of BPO among midmarket firms.

Additional key study findings for the HR BPO space include:

When asked to identify a single most important vendor attribute, midmarket HR respondents chose industry knowledge by a substantial margin

In order for vendors to succeed in this market, they will need to help midmarket buyers understand the cost of HR within their organizations and educate them on the benefits they'll realize by going to a standard offering

Additional key study findings for the F&A BPO space include:

Industry knowledge is the primary vendor attribute in F&A BPO vendor selection, along with price competitiveness, business consulting expertise, and technology expertise

F&A respondents were receptive to an offshore value proposition, as the transactional aspects of F&A are easy targets to be offshored due to the high-volume, repetitive nature of the work involved

Resolve Staffing, Inc. announced financial results for Q1 ending March 31, 2006. Gross sales for the quarter were $17.4m, a 23% increase over the prior quarter, and a 550% increase over Q1 of 2005.

Net income (loss) for Q1 includes the effect of a new accounting requirement for the expensing of stock option grants as well as incremental costs related to increasing the bad debt reserve, the recruitment of a new officers and the increased professional fees associated with an aggressive acquisition run.

Resolve Staffing has a pending acquisition of Star Personnel and merger with Employee Leasing Solutions, Inc. (ELS), management. Resolve is currently on track for approximately $75m in annual sales. The first quarter of the year is typically the slowest quarter for the staffing industry as a whole. Resolve has grown from a single location in Florida to a firm with 57 offices.

Mercer HR Services employs 4,100 staff in international service centers located in Melbourne, Australia; Toronto, Canada; Dublin, Ireland; and London, England. In addition, 1,600 staff work in four major US service centers located in Norwood, Mass.; Dallas and Houston, Tex.; and Deerfield, Ill.